Windows 7 startup repair fail?

[1smiler1]

Hi to the good folks of the answerbank :) I have a problem and would really appreciate any advice you could offer.
I recently upgraded to windows 7, it was great but ran a little slowly. Now it has stopped... :( I think it may be a virus (?) When I start up my laptop, a blue error screen breifly appears (not long enough to read!) and then it goes straight to 'windows error recovery' black page with the option of 'start windows normally' (doesnt work ) or 'launch start up repair' but then it says 'cannot repair automatically' !!

Is there anything I can do? I have tried F8 and starting in safe mode but it has the same result - failure!
Can I somehow prompt to reinstall from the installation disk??

Please help me!! Thanks for any advice in advance, Jamie

[mikestar]

i have the same problem buddy...i had windows 7 too, may be a problem with windows 7 :S??

[1smiler1]

Mike, if I can suss it out i'll let you know! makes me feel aaarrgghh! :-)

[rojash]

"may be a problem with windows 7"
If you upgraded using your existing hardware it's more likely a hardware incompatibility problem - especially if you're getting a blue screen. Did you run a compatibility check before upgrading? Did you ensure that you had any necessary drivers?

[1smiler1]

Hi Rojash, I ran the compatability test and chose 32 bit, it loaded ok and worked for a for a few days.. The blue screen only flashes up quickly, is there a way I can prompt to reinstall everything from the disk again? Many Thanks :)

[rojash]

You can reinstall by booting from the disk. You will, of course, lose any existing data, and you'll also need to reinstall any additional programs that you have.
After booting from the disk, you need to delete any existing partitions to ensure a clean install (I'm assuming that this is not an upgrade-only disk.
Frankly, I wouldn't have recommended upgrading in the first place. Windows 7 is very nice, and if you get it on a new machine, it works like a dream, but there is no compelling reason to upgrade an XP machine. The fact that you say that it ran slowly is somewhat worrying, because when properly installed on suitable hardware, Win 7 is (at least subjectively) faster than XP.

[1smiler1]

I had to rearrange the order in the boot menu on the BIOS so the DVD drive ran first, reinstalled and now everything is great. Agree with you about the upgrade, but I had the software for free (legitimately!) and theres a few nice features but XP does everything you need!! Thanks fellers

[mikestar]

i wouldnt have a clue how to partition the hard drive. but now i know what needs to be done i can explain it more clearly to one of my mates who may be able to do this.

Thankyou to the both of you guys, you have been a great help!

[1smiler1]

Hey Mike, as soon as you turn the laptop on, press F2 and tis will take you to the BIOS menu. go to the boot option and you can change the order there, adjust your DVD drive to the top of the list save and exit. Then when you next start the pc make sure the installation disk is in the DVD drive and you can set up your PC again from the disk. Just dont forget to go in and adjust the BIOS boot menu to as you first found it afterwards... hope this helps

[mikestar]

Hi Smiler im realy greatful for everyones help thankyou very much i shall now be very happy that my laptop will work again (i thought it was dead lol).

Mike